Social Cognition

Question 1

Social agents (people)

Answer 1

• Move on their own
• Change direction on their own
• Influence others at a distance
• Influence often delayed
• Behavior is influenced by mental states

Question 2

Infants Selectivity to the Social World

Answer 2

From birth, infants prefer social versus non-social stimuli, & prefer particular social stimuli over others

Infants distinguish agents from objects
- They know that objects are subject to physical laws like contact causality, but think humans/agents may not be

Question 3

Mental States

Answer 3

Goal representation is specific to the intentional action of agents

Rational Action
- They expect that if a person acts strangely, it must be for some reason and take their word for it

Question 4

A Mature Theory of Mind

Answer 4

The big picture of how we understand others’ minds: intentions, preferences, knowledge, beliefs
- Representational: not necessarily the same as yours, and not necessarily the actual state of the world

Question 5

Theory of Mind

Answer 5

Learned through experience
- Observational and personal experience with agents
- Over time, experience allows us to develop theories of how minds work

Question 6

Autism

Answer 6

A developmental disability
- Must show symptoms from early childhood even if not officially diagnosed until later
- In a spectrum because needs (support) can be very low to very high

The DSM-5 describes as 2 categories

1. Communication/interaction deficits in:
   - Social-emotional reciprocity
   - Awareness of nonverbal cues
   - Building/maintaining relationships
   - Much more likely to fail false-belief tasks, even into adolescence
   - May recognize how desire and knowledge influence behavior, but not belief
2. Restricted range of activities/repetitive behaviors
   - Highly sensitive to changes in environment/ schedules
   - Stereotyped or highly repetitive motor movements
   - Intensely focused on “inappropriate” items
   - Hypo/hyper-reactivity to sensory input; atypical interest in sensory environment
   - Difficulties with planning, working memory, etc.

Regressive Autism
- 20 - 40% of autistic children show some regression
- Most show mild symptoms before loss
- Average age of regression is 19 months

Strong genetic components
- Heritability estimates of 35% - 96%
- But autism not traceable to a single genetic abnormality

High sensitive to treatment
- Especially early treatment

Question 7

Inanimate Objects (billiard balls)

Answer 7

• Move via outside forces
• Change direction via outside forces
• Influence others via contact
• Influence immediate